The members of the Hannibal High School Academic Team are proud to debut The Winter Academic INvitational (TWAIN) at Hannibal, and invite your team to participate in our tournament at HHS, scheduled for January 28th, 2017. This tournament will consist of a minimum of eight games for all teams in a modified national format:

Each game shall consist of two halves of ten tossups each, with each correct tossup followed by a three-part bonus.

Correct tossup answers are ten points each.

Unlike other national tournaments, we will NOT assess a five-point penalty for interrupting the moderator during the tossup with an incorrect answer.

Teams will have five seconds to buzz in on a tossup, and three seconds (after verbal recognition) to begin a significant response. However, teams shall receive only five seconds to answer a bonus. Moderators will be instructed to prompt after four seconds. Should math calculation tossups and bonus be in the set selected, they shall receive ten seconds instead of 15.

In the event a game is tied after regulation, additional tossups shall be read until the next change in score.

Each team shall have one 60-second and one-30 second timeout per game. Teams may substitute at the half, prior to overtime, or during any timeout called by either team. However, coaches may not confer with their players during a 30-second timeout.

Teams rosters shall be limited to seven players; schools are encouraged to bring junior varsity and “B” teams to compete. Teams may play with fewer than four players. Rosters shall be submitted in advance and finalized at registration the morning of the tournament. Players may not change teams during the tournament.

We are in the process of securing a regular-difficulty set; we will promptly announce the set when secured. If tossups are power-marked, an additional five points will be awarded if a correct answer is given prior to the mark.

Teams will play five morning rounds, break for lunch, then return for three afternoon games. This setup is subject to change, depending on the number of teams signed up. We plan to start the team meeting at 8:30 a.m. in the library (second floor, north end), with the first round set for at 8:50 a.m. and afternoon rounds slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. With the exception of any playoff games for trophies, we anticipate the last game ending around 4 p.m. We are currently limiting the field to 24 teams. Additional teams will be placed on a waitlist and contacted should an opening occur.

Fee structure is as follows, per school:

First team: $65

Additional teams: $60

Discount for travelling more than 100 miles each way (determined by Google Maps): $10

Discount for providing a working buzzer set: $5 (maximum $10)

Discount for providing competent staff: $5 per staffer (maximum $10)

All discounts are subject to the discretion of tournament officials.

Teams outside the state of Missouri are welcome to register for TWAIN. However, owing to MSHSAA’s sanctioning process, we ask that any teams from out of state register prior to December 19th. Additionally, we remind out-of-state teams that MSHSAA rules require the moderator to verbally recognize players in order to accept an answer on a tossup. Additionally, on bonus parts the captain must verbally defer by name if he/she wishes to do so, within the time allotted to answer the bonus.

Hannibal High School is located at 4500 McMasters Avenue, on the right side of Highway 61 northbound, north of Highway 36/Interstate 72. Parking is available on either end of the building. There are many lunch options close to the school. McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Long John Silver’s are directly across from the school, but with a 1-2 minute drive you can also find Subway, Hardee’s, KFC, several Mexican and Chinese options, etc.

The tournament is under the direction of Hannibal High School Coach Amy Sternke and veteran scholar bowl moderator Kyle Hill of the Missouri Quizbowl Alliance, an organization dedicated to promoting quality scholar bowl tournaments around the state. We anticipate receiving certification and assistance from their membership. Questions concerning the tournament may be directed to either Amy Sternke at [email protected] or Kyle Hill [email protected]. Please include “TWAIN 2017” in the subject line.

We look forward to seeing you at Hannibal High School on January 28th.

Kyle Hill—Liberty (Mo.) '03—Truman State '07Moderator for hire based in Sedalia, Mo.

Owing to MSHSAA's sanctioning rules, we ask that any out-of-state teams considering TWAIN register in the next week. We are thrilled to currently have three schools from Illinois and one from Indiana in the field.

As of this morning we have one spot remaining, after which (Update 12/13) Our field now has all 24 spots filled. We will start our waitlist and admit teams in the event spots become available.

Kyle Hill—Liberty (Mo.) '03—Truman State '07Moderator for hire based in Sedalia, Mo.

Because everyone is preparing for the imminent encasing of the state in solid ice, now might as well be the best time to post an update on where things stand 15 days before TWAIN.

TWAIN has received MSHSAA sanctioning, authorizing us to host out-of-state teams that registered prior to the December 19th deadline.

PACE has granted us gold certification, meaning the top 20% of teams in the field (rounded up) will receive a bid to the National Scholastic Challenge, June 9-11th at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont, Illinois. If my math is correct, that means top five finishers.

The field remains full, however we welcome additions to the waitlist in the event we have any drops. You can find a link to the registration form at the top of this thread.

Two critical reminders for out-of-state teams:

Consistent with both Missouri state and national formats, four players per team will compete at a time. (Obviously if you have fewer than four on a team, you'll be playing with fewer than four at a time.)

MSHSAA rules mandate that the spotter (in our case, the moderator) must verbally recognize the player buzzing in before an answer is given. Any response given by a player before receiving said verbal recognition cannot be accepted.

Coaches will be receiving the comprehensive fortnightly this weekend via e-mail. I'll be sending a similar missive to tournament staff.

Kyle Hill—Liberty (Mo.) '03—Truman State '07Moderator for hire based in Sedalia, Mo.

What a day! Helias A avenged its round seven loss to Culver by beating our visitors from Indiana to force a second game in the advantaged playoff, and Culver responded by the clinching victory on the last tossup of the last match! Macomb A finished 3rd, Piasa A was 4th, and Wellsville surged to fifth in the last match, assuring themselves of the small school championship.

I am thrilled to see a wonderful tournament take root at Hannibal. We had many eager staffers, several of them working a tournament for the first time, and others who reconnected with the activity for the first time in years. I am hopeful that we can grow this event that I hope to see become a magnet to teams in the Tri-State area!

In particular, I want to extend my gratitude to our tournament staff: moderators Brian Baker, Michelle Conrad, Jon Deering, Alex Dzurick, Jeffrey Hill, Stephanie Hill, J'Nelle Lee, Allyson Lotz, J'Lynne Mundle, Corey Lovelace, Jacob O'Rourke, Sean Phillips, Jill Schulte and Nick Telep; scorekeepers Caleb, Michael and Brett from Louisiana, as well as Hannibal team members Gavin, Donovan, Clayton, Jessica, Yudsara, Akira, Anna, Brecklyn and Ruby. Major kudos to Pranati Parikh for taking on the task of entering stats and assistant coach Chrissy Strode for the remarkable creativity on the signs leading teams to each room, as well as designing signs for each room that wonderfully matched our tournament moniker.

I want to express my extreme gratitude to principal Ted Sampson, activities director Clint Graham and the administration of Hannibal Schools for allowing us to put together The Winter Academic Invitational and expand playing opportunities for teams across Northeast Missouri as well as Western Illinois. We already anticipate hosting next year and hope you'll consider attending!

The caliber of the inaugural TWAIN would not have been possible without the avid support and collaboration I enjoyed with Coach Amy Sternke. It was about this time a year ago that I e-mailed her to inquire about the prospect of hosting a tournament. The many conversations and e-mail exchanges since then have culminated into this successful event. A big thank you to Coach Sternke and her well-versed team for going along with this crazy idea!!

I close this post with this brief directive, in honor of my late junior high journalism adviser: "Be Safe, Be Smart!"

Kyle Hill—Liberty (Mo.) '03—Truman State '07Moderator for hire based in Sedalia, Mo.